It is known to be desirable to remove excess moisture in buildings to prevent the accumulation of mold and for the comfort of occupants of the building. Moisture is particularly a problem in foundation areas of concrete structures in which the moisture can penetrate through concrete walls and floors into occupied spaces of the building.
The following US patents disclose several examples of systems related to moisture removal in a building: U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,216 belonging to Smith et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,643 belonging to Guasch; U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,759 belonging to Bass; U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,924 belonging to Smith; U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,520 belonging to Lestage; U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,786 belonging to Walkinshaw et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,334 belonging to Thoren; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,318,056 belonging to Thompson.
In each instance in the prior art, the systems are not well suited for installation as a substrate ready to accept finishing materials thereon and in a manner in which airflow for collecting moisture is optimized through a substrate area. In other instances the systems disclosed in the prior art are complex to install and/or costly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,691,427 belonging to Fernandes et al. discloses a concrete wall heating and drying system in which panels of insulating material direct airflow across the surfaces of a concrete wall to be dried. The system works well, however in some instances the airflow pattern may be limited to particular wall configurations and the many redirections of air through manifold or plenum sections of the system do not always ensure even pressure and flow distribution for optimum moisture collection.